What’s the most exciting thing about being a jewelry designer? And the less exciting?

I love working with my hands, and seeing the process from start to finish. I start with sketches, then hand-carve the initial molds. I get to oversee the entire production process because we make the jewelry here in NYC. The least exciting is probably the paperwork. There are always hoops to jump through with production of any sorts, and that can be stressful but luckily I have a good team that keeps us organized. I prefer to focus on the creative side of the business.

Please describe your creative process and how you choose the mood for your collections?

A lot of the inspiration for each collection comes from things I’m introduced to while traveling. I love experiencing new cultures, and I always travel with a notebook for sketches and camera to photograph images and add them to our mood boards. We’ll take snippets of everything, from fashion to objects to architecture to words and make a giant mood board before we get to sketching.

From all your jewelry designs, which one’s your favorite and why?

My sterling talon cuff is probably the one I wear most frequently. I rarely take it off. I think it’s an accurate symbol of who I am as a person and as a designer – bold, maybe a little sinister, but delicate and feminine too.

What artist or designer from any discipline (alive or not) would you love (or have loved) to work with?

Georgia O’Keefe has always inspired me. I sometimes assist the painter Francesco Clemente in his studio- his work is incredible. I’ve also always wanted to work with Neil Young in some capacity. He’s one of my favorites.

What do you think is the key for Pamela Love Jewelry’s success? What in your opinion makes your jewelry line stand out in America and the world?

That it’s made in America! There are so many American companies outsourcing their production these days that it seems rare to have production in-house, especially in NYC. We take pride in the way our jewelry is made and put love and detail into each piece. I think people appreciate knowing that their money goes into keeping production in-house, and we’re proud to be in control of the quality of each piece.

Winning the CFDA awards must be very exciting and rewarding. Did it serve as an inspiration for other plans in your career? Please tell us a little.

It’s a huge honor to even be nominated, and this year we were thrilled to be runner-up for such a prestigious award. The fashion fund not only publicizes our name and provides tons of fanatastic publicity, the award money will help us grow the company by investing in new equipment, hiring new employees, and rewarding our staff.

Do you have any advice for young designers?

Do your own thing and don’t worry about whether or not it fits in with the trends that are going on at the time. Trust yourself. You make your own trends.

If your house was on fire and you could only take with you anything you can grab with your hands, what would you take?